Biotechnology

The biotechnological experts at Groen Agro Control have extensive knowledge in screening and growing of microorganisms such as algae, bacteria, yeasts and fungi. This applies both to the production of biomass (for instance baker’s and brewer’s yeasts) and for the production of commercially interesting products like amino acids, vitamins, colorants, antibiotics and health promoting supplements.

We can help you with the implementation of your biotechnological ideas, design and the development and optimization of the biotechnological production process. Furthermore, we can give advice on the production of beer, wine, cider, bread and fermented dairy products. Besides this we can assist you with the process of patent filing.

Our expertise in the field of biotechnology focusses on the following topics:

Shaping your idea

Screening and selection

Stable storage of micro-organisms

Algae

Strain improvement

Process improvement

Upscaling, product separation and purification

Microbiological crop protection

Preparation of beer, wine and cider

Degradation / mineralisation of organic compounds

Shaping your idea

Screening and selection

Stable storage of micro-organisms

Algae

Strain improvement

Process improvement

Upscaling, product separation and purification

Microbiological crop protection

Preparation of beer, wine and cider

Degradation / mineralisation of organic compounds

Screening, selection and storage

of microorganisms

Screening and Selection

The first step of the development of a biotechnological process is the selection of the appropriate organism able to produce the required product. Generally this is a bacteria, yeast, fungi or algae. Groen Agro Control has the required cultivation expertise and analytical knowledge to screen and select the required organisms. This screening and selection procedure occurs on the basis of biochemical properties, conversions and ability to produce the desired product. If necessary, we can also investigate the production of undesired toxic compounds and other unwanted by-products.

We can search for micro-organisms that overproduce significant amounts of vitamins, amino acids, colorants and antibiotics. Other screening activities are microorganisms that synthesize proteins that catalyse a specific biochemical conversion from cheap (bio)chemical raw materials. Our biotechnological expertise can also focus on the isolation of anagonists, creating the right strains used in the composting procedures or the transfer of organic compounds into other compounds of more value.

Stable storage of microorganisms

Micro-organisms such ad bacteria, yeast, fungi and algae can lose their desired production properties during cultivating. This can be circumvented by storing these microorganism under conditions where (genetic) changes are no longer possible. The manner of conservation and storage conditions depend on the microbial species itself, the product and the degree and type of strain improvements of the specific organism.

Other important parameters are the pre-cultivation procedure of the organism before conservation takes place and which procedure is used to cultivate these organisms after conservation. The quality of the stored material is monitored on a regular basis, in this way we can quarantee a stable quality of the material.

Biotechnology

Algae

Biotechnological applications for algae are emerging at a high rate during the last decade. Algae combine the biochemical versatility of plants with the advantages of microbial cultivation. Their biological potential consist of the production of natural colorants, medicines, nutrients, health promoting ingredients and biodiesel. The annual turnover has meanwhile passed the € 1 billion, of which the carotenoids (colorants, vitamin A) cover approximately € 750 million. Since algae and plants have the same needs in terms of light, CO2, temperature control and fertiliser, the environment of a greenhouse is very suitable for growing algae. This may take place either in relatively simple open bassins or in complex closed cultivation systems. Meanwhile, Groen Agro Control is experienced in the process of cultiavtion of algae. With our expertise in cultivation of algae and our analytical expertise closely linked to horticulture, we can be of service by realizing your biotechnolgical ideas.

We can also assist on the following research topics:

Selection of the correct type of algae

Storage and conservation of the algae culture under controlled circumtances

Analytical identification of the desired product

Optimization of the cultivation procedure

Strain improvement

Improvement of production and extraction procedures

analytical control on undesired compounds

Patent filing to protect intellectual property

Examples of products made by algae are Astaxanthin as a food additive used in the fish industry to colour salmon, Canthaxanthin used in the chicken industry to colour egg yolks, dried algae used in Licking stones for cattle or dried algae that are used as food supplements.

Biotechnology

Microbiological crop protection

Some microorganisms and plants elaborate a long-term interaction to their mutual advantage. A well-known example is the symbiosis between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and leguminous plants

There are also microorganisms that increase the growth of commercial crops and stimulate the health of plants. These are called antagonists. Some bacteria, if present in the substrate, prevent plants for becoming ill by pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Groen Agro Control posses a number of specific microorganism that have antagonistic properties. Our experts have knowledge regarding research projects on anatagonists and including these antagonists in horticultural practices.

In addition, the experts at Groen Agro Control also has expertise with cross protection of crops by using viruses, such as the protection against the pepino mosaic virus in tomatoes, along with the associated official procedure of registration.

Biotechnology

Preparation of Beer, wine and cider

Nowadays many start-ups of small beer breweries emerge each with their own specific products. The taste of these products is strongly determined by the quality and properties of the raw materials, the brewing procedure, the srains of yeasts and the fermentation process.

At Groen Agro Control, expertise is present for the optimization of the brewing process for beer, grape juice construction for wine and apple juice for the preparation of cider. We can develop and optimize fermentation procedures. We have a vast collection of yeasts which we can test in your process. Moreover we can store the yeasts and conserve them in such a way that the specific yeast characteristics such as fermentation time, taste and alcohol concentration remain the same over time. Since yeast properties may rapidly change, Groen Agro Control has a conservation method that guarantees the quality of the strain culture.

A number of difficulties can occurr in the production process such as low levels of production or the synthesis of undesired by-products. These difficulties can be overcome by improving the characteristics of the particular micro-organisms by classical strain improvement methods (mutagenesis and selection). These traditional strain improvement techniques such as mutagenesis and selection are the preffered methods but the possibilities of recombinant DNA technology can also be examined.

Cultures of the specific microorganism are treated, for example, with ultraviolet light. Appropriate dilutions of the cultures are grown on specific media such as agar plates and each (mutated) cell multiplies to form a visible colony. Using these agar plates, selection on high-producing strains is performed. Selection can be very straightforward if, for instance, selection is aimed at the highest levels of colorants. But on other occassions more complicated bio-assays are needed to determine which culture has the highset production rates.

The production of high producing strains can then be checked in shake flasks and fermenters.

We have gained our experience in the following strain improvement projects:

Biotechnology

Process improvement

When both the microorganism and the product are established, we can increase the production rate by making improvements to the procedure. Our experience has learned us that significant improvement of production can already be obtained by defining the optimal medium composition, pH, temperature and aeration. Furthermore, the proper choice of the fermentation system for production is crucial. Is the organism cultured without influx of growth media (batch culture), with the influx of growth media (fed batch culture) or a simultaneous continuous influx. Defining the correct production system is vital for the economic feasibility.

During the production of amino acids, antibiotics, microbial colorants, vitamins and proteins a 5-fold production increase was realized, sometimes even more than a factor 10. In general, this is a specialistic activity where much industrial experience is needed.

Upscaling, product separation and purification

When the microbial production process is fully defined, the process is scaled up in order to realize experimental production. This can be 20 litres but it can also mean considerably larger volumes (1 – 10 m3 and larger). Above a certain scale the upscale experiments are performed at external sites.

After fermentation, the desired product must be separated from the biomass and be purified. Techniques to use must be effective, cheap and focused on the application.

Groen Agro Control has the right technical expertise, network and analytical analysis equipment to perform and evaluate these upscale experiments.

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